Keynote Speakers / Civic Leaders

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Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

Friday February 24th, 2012 7:00 pm CSU Ballroom

The 36th Dr. Michael T. Fagin Pan African Student Leadership Conference proudly presents Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, two-time NAACP image award winner and one of America’s most influential and renowned public intellectuals. He was named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me, Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Judge LaJune Thomas Lange (retired)

Honorary Consul for South Africa, State of MN

President, International Leadership Institute

Friday February 24th, 2012 1:00 pm CSU Ballroom

Judge Lange served on the Fourth Judicial District Court, Hennepin County, in Minneapolis. She is an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law, teaching international human rights and civil rights. Judge Lange is a 1978 graduate of the University of Minnesota law School and a 1975 graduate of Augsburg College majoring in psychology.
She has worked locally to improve access to justice through civic education programs for students, the elderly and immigrants. Judge Lange has lectured nationally and internationally in the area of women’s rights, African Diaspora concerns, government corruption, comparative legal systems and judicial independence. Since 1992 she has provided international training programs, lectures and workshops for various organizations including: the American Bar and National Bar Association, Women Judges Association and the International Leadership Institute, for Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation and the United Nations World Conference on Race. Currently Judge Lange is the President of the International Leadership Institute, Minneapolis, MN.

MN Senator Bobby Joe Champion

Friday February 24th, 2012 12:00 pm CSU Ballroom

Bobby Joe Champion is a practicing attorney. He graduated from North High
School, received BA in Political Science from Macalester College, and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law. He is also the Program Director of Social Spaces with Stairstep Initiative, Executive Director of the National Association of Minority Contractors, Midwest Chapter which promotes inclusion of people of color and women in the construction industry and is the Co-founder and Director of Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award Winner, Excelsior Choir.

Chike Akua

Saturday February 25th, 2012 1:00 pm CSU Ballroom

Chike Akua is a 1992 graduate of Hampton University and a 2003 graduate of Clark Atlanta University. Selected as one of Ebony magazine’s “50 Leaders of Tomorrow,” Akua is a former “Teacher of the Year” and has facilitated workshops for the Tavis Smiley Foundation’s annual “Youth 2 Leaders” Conference. In addition, Mr. Akua has assisted in leading over 500 youth and adults on study tours to Egypt and Ghana through the D’Zert Club’s Teen Summit 1000 program. He has authored and produced several books and DVDs including; The African Origins of Writing & Mathematics (DVD), African Sacred Science & Civilization (DVD), The Miracle of the Maafa (DVD), Reading Revolution
(Book), SuccessQuest!: The Journey From Ordinary to Extraordinary (Book/DVD). As a prolific author and dynamic speaker and trainer, Mr. Akua keeps a demanding schedule traveling nationally and internationally presenting at colleges, universities and conferences.

El-Kati, Mahmoud

Thursday February 23rd, 2012 11:00am-12:30pm CSU Auditorium

Mahmoud EI-Kati was professor of history at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. He is credited by Dr. Michael T. Fagin as the force which motivated him to continue the Pan African Conference for the past 30 years. Prof. El-Kati is a distinguished leader of the Pan African community in the upper Midwest and is known for his scholarship and in-depth knowledge of the Diaspora of African peoples with emphasis on the history and culture of the African American. Prof. EI-Kati provides a scholarly overview of the African American experience and a truthful picture of America’s economic, political, social/cultural
development since the presence of African people in the Western Hemisphere.